Ridgefield Public Schools

French 5 - High School

Le Petit Prince (early September)

FOCUS QUESTIONS

How does one communicate past action accurately?
What is the nature of imagination and how does one create with imagination in French?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

INITIAL UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

describe present activities.
describe past activities.
describe future activities.
identify verb tenses.
conjugate all common present and past tenses of the indicative mood.
use articles accurately.
express commands using the imperative.
recognize the passé simple.
match passé simple verbs with the same verbs in the passé composé.
identify ongoing vs. simple past activities.
sequence past activities.
describe setting, character, and basic plot elements of the novel, Le Petit Prince.

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

distinguish between the uses of the various past tenses.
describe patterns of past narration.
describe relationships between individuals and how they influence behavior.
explain the use of satire in Le Petit Prince.
describe patterns of structure in the novel.
contrast the real world with the world of the imagination as described in the novel.
assess the essential plot pattern of Le Petit Prince and use it to create his or her own meaning.
evaluate the lesson of the fox and its applicability to our lives.

MAKING CONNECTIONS The student will . . .

make analogies between the world of Le Petit Prince and his/her own experience.
combine tenses to relate real and imaginary experiences.
create his/her own imaginative story involving Le Petit Prince.

Carmen (early November)

FOCUS QUESTIONS

How do we express emotion, wishing, and doubt?
How does music interact with language to create beauty?
What can we learn about a culture through the themes in its art?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

INITIAL UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

list conjunctions which require the subjunctive.
conjugate all common verbs in the present and past subjunctive.
identify and or describe expressions which require the subjunctive mood.
use pronouns with accuracy.
identify basic plot elements, characters, and setting of the opera Carmen.

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

compare the emotions in Carmen with those expressed in current music and literature.
examine how the subjunctive can be used to talk about relationships between people.
describe patterns of behavior and how they can be expressed through patterns in language.
evaluate the actions of the central characters and defend the actions of Carmen or of José.
identify mistakes made by the main characters and tell what might have been done to avoid these errors.

MAKING CONNECTIONS The student will . . .

compare the actions of the main characters in Carmen with those of real people.
analyze these behaviors to make judgments about human nature.

La cantatrice chauve (early January)

FOCUS QUESTIONS

How do we question the world we live in?
How does our use of language mirror our essential perception of the world around us?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

INITIAL UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

identify possessive, demonstrative, and interrogative pronouns, adjectives, and expressions.
list possessive adjectives and pronouns.
list demonstrative adjectives and pronouns.
list interrogative adjectives and pronouns.
use possessives, demonstratives, and interrogatives accurately.
describe the setting, characters and plot of the play, La Cantatrice Chauve.
memorize a small portion of the play.

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

describe patterns in the use of interrogative and demonstrative adjectives and pronouns.
contrast the use of possessive and demonstrative pronouns.
make predictions about the play La Cantatrice Chauve based on their observations of behavior patterns in the characters.
extrapolate from the play to real-life situations they may have experienced.
explain the general idea of absurdism.
evaluate the effectiveness of the theater of the absurd in communicating its message about human nature.
judge the message itself and attempt to formulate his/her own philosophy.

MAKING CONNECTIONS The student will . . .

generalize about the essential nature of the world as seen through the eyes of the playwright.
compare the world they perceive with the world as Ionesco sees it.
describe patterns of language that express absurdism in La Cantatrice Chauve.

L’Étranger (mid February)

FOCUS QUESTIONS

How do we use language to compare and to make value judgments?
How does creative description enhance comprehension?
How does our use of language affect how others perceive us?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

INITIAL UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

identify relative pronouns, negative and indefinite expressions, and a variety of adjectives and adverbs.
use relative pronouns, negative and interrogative expressions, and a variety of adjectives and adverbs accurately.
match masculine and feminine adjectives.
describe differences in the use of the comparative and the superlative.
describe basic setting, plot, and character elements of the novel, L’étranger.

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

categorize a variety of expressions by purpose.
classify adjectives and adverbs.
describe patterns in the use of relative pronouns and negative expressions.
discuss the relationship between environment and action in L’étranger.
examine description and how it is used in L’étranger.
evaluate Meursault’s actions in the novel and identify errors that he makes.
evaluate the justice of Meursault’s sentence at the end of the novel.

MAKING CONNECTIONS The student will . . .

take a perspective on Meursault’s actions in the novel.
make analogies between events in the novel and events in their daily lives.
evaluate ways in which colonialism has left its mark on the northern Africa of the novel.

Bonjour, Tristesse (late April)

FOCUS QUESTIONS

How do people use language to express differences in values?
How do we talk about family relationships, particularly in the context of the blended family?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

INITIAL UNDERSTANDING The student will . . .

identify prepositions and conjunctions that are used with specific verbs.
distinguish between situations in which they should conjugate a verb and situations in which they should not do so.
sequence their use of tenses in order to recount someone else’s statements.
use the present participle accurately.
describe setting, characters and plot essentials in the novel Bonjour tristesse.

DEVELOPING AN INTERPRETATION The student will . . .

compare use of verbs in direct and indirect discourse and in the infinitive.
describe patterns in the use of prepositions and conjunctions.
summarize the events in the novel.
examine the family relationships in the novel.
compare and contrast the life of the novel’s main character with his/her own life.
identify Cécile’s errors in the novel and evaluate the extent of her personal responsibility for those errors.
evaluate the difficulties of raising a blended family.

MAKING CONNECTIONS The student will . . .

interpret the actions of the main characters in the novel in light of these characters’ family situations.
make analogies between the actions of the central character and their own observations of life.
describe the cause(s) of the main character’s sorrow (Tristesse).
predict the outcome of the novel if Cécile had not interfered with her father’s plans.

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